Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy Gets Adapted for Film

What do you get when you mix the rock group My Chemical Romance with the Keanu Reeves film Constantine? A news story straight from Gothic heaven that’s what! According to THR, screenwriter Mark Bomback who penned the script for Constantine is adapting another dark comic. This time he will be taking his creative cues from Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance. Bomback will adapt The Umbrella Academy, a Dark Horse Comic that was created by Way.

The Umbrella Academy focuses on a group of heroes who have been disbanded, but are forced to reunite when their adoptive father dies. His name was Sir Reginald Hargreeves and he was an alien disguised as a wealthy businessman. He adopted his superhero brood shortly after their birth, and trained them to become the world’s protectors. After his death the team decides to reunite and continue on with his plan. The film will be produced by Mike Richardson on behalf of Dark Horse. The original comic was released as a six part series in 2007 and won an Eisner award. A second series is currently being published.

I actually heard about this comic for the first time while reading about the Eisner award. I was really surprised that it won as were many, but is it that shocking that the lead singer of a punk, gothic, emo band could produce a decent comic? Did he really step out of his comfort zone for this one? That’s like someone being taken aback by the fact that Rob Zombie does horror movies. I for one enjoyed Constantine even though a lot of people had their issues with it, so I’m looking forward to another screenplay from Bomback. It all boils down to whether or not he can transfer the story to the screen without it looking cheesy.

Do you think The Umbrella Academy should be made into a film or be left alone?